Just weeks earlier, the car’s modified Ford engine had struggled in testing. Both heavier and less powerful than anticipated, the custom engine was far from race-ready. The team scrambled to make adjustments and even considered withdrawing from Monaco entirely. Ultimately, the decision was made to forge ahead.
That refusal to give up established a mindset that has since come to define us: McLaren never quits.
Though the car was well received by fans and enthusiasts, McLaren’s debut Grand Prix was far from a resounding success. An oil leak forced the M2B into retirement on the 10th lap, and when Bruce stepped out of the car, he was covered in hot oil. There were no points and no silverware, but there was a commitment to keep going.
That commitment allowed us to claim our first F1 Grand Prix podium just two years later, when Denny Hulme took second at the 1968 Spanish Grand Prix. Fending off pressure on the tight, unforgiving curves of Jarama, Hulme proved McLaren could compete with the biggest names in F1. The following month, Bruce became the first McLaren driver to stand on the top step, winning the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix at one of Europe’s fastest tracks, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
Suddenly, McLaren wasn’t just a newcomer to watch with interest, we were a serious threat to the teams that had previously dominated the sport.
Since that 1968 win, McLaren has outlasted over 100 F1 rivals, created legends of the sport, and inspired generations of racing fans. Among our 203 Grand Prix wins and 23 World Championships are many of the sport’s most iconic moments – triumphs that have defied belief, dominance that has set new standards, and comebacks that have stunned the doubters.
Among them, Ayrton Senna’s 1991 victory in Brazil, a win that encapsulates the dogged persistence that connects so many who have represented McLaren.
Battling pouring rain at Interlagos, Ayrton finally clinched the home win he had dreamt of on his eighth attempt, despite a failing gearbox that left him stuck in sixth gear for the final laps. The same issue had forced Williams’ Nigel Mansel out on Lap 61, but Ayrton clung on, wrestling the MP4/6 around corners, on the edge of stalling. Suffering from severe muscle cramps, the victorious Ayrton was lifted from the car, exhausted and feverish, but to raucous applause from the home crowd.